Crossover Question

why is it best to slowly introduce valium into the mix ? why not take it at full dose and reduce the benzo you are replacing at a somewhat faster speed say 20% each week ?

seems more logical to me than how the doctors say to crossover.

From the Ashton Manual, it looks to me as if you can do whatever you want, she was simply trying to keep the person as comfortable as possible.

A second factor to bear in mind is that the various benzodiazepines, though broadly similar, have slightly different profiles of action. For example, lorazepam (Ativan) seems to have less hypnotic activity than diazepam (probably because it is shorter acting). Thus if someone on, say, 2mg Ativan three times a day is directly switched to 60mg diazepam (the equivalent dose for anxiety) he is liable to become extremely sleepy, but if he is switched suddenly onto a much smaller dose of diazepam, he will probably get withdrawal symptoms. Making the changeover one dose (or part of dose) at a time avoids this difficulty and also helps to find the equivalent dosage for that individual. It is also helpful to make the first substitution in the night-time dose, and the substitution may not always need to be complete. For example, if the evening dose was 2mg Ativan, this could in some cases be changed to 1 mg Ativan plus 8mg diazepam. A full substitution for the dropped 1 mg of Ativan would have been 10mg diazepam. However, the patient may actually sleep well on this combination and he will have already made a dosage reduction -

most of ashton's charts are for higher doses that what I am facing.

thinking alway thinking how I am going to get out of this and will I be ok

when I am drug free.

Sundazed,

Are you trying to crossover without the help of a doc?  I know you said you have enough pills to do so...but I would hate to see you interupt the great progress you made...there are so many factors involved in a crossover..I don't know that I would want to tackle it without consulting a doc...

Btw...if you have consulted a doc..disregard everything above..

No matter what you decide....I am confident you will win in in the end....congrats on being right about halfway done.....that is a huge accomplishment

TC